當地時間12號晚間，美國總統奧巴馬在華盛頓發表了任上最后一次國情咨文，這也是他第八次進行國情咨文演講。

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, my fellow Americans:
議長先生、副總統先生、各位國會議員和美國同胞們：

Tonight marks the eighth year I've come here to report on the State of the Union. And for this final one, I'm going to try to make it shorter. I know some of you are antsy to get back to Iowa.
今晚是我在這里做國情咨文的第八個年頭，也是最后一次。我將盡量簡而言之。我知道你們中有些人急著回愛荷華州（譯者注：兩黨黨內預選進行地）。

I also understand that because it's an election season, expectations for what we'll achieve this year are low. Still, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the constructive approach you and the other leaders took at the end of last year to pass a budget and make tax cuts permanent for working families. So I hope we can work together this year on bipartisan priorities like criminal justice reform, and helping people who are battling prescription drug abuse. We just might surprise the cynics again.
我也理解此時正當大選之季，因此公眾對我們今年成就的期望并不高。但是，議長先生，您以及其他領導人去年年末通過了建設性的預算決議，使得工薪家庭減稅計劃能夠長久實施下去，我對此深表感激。因此我衷心希望今年兩黨能夠在一些重要事務上同心協作，比如，推行刑事司法改革，幫助那些與處方藥濫用行為抗爭的人們。我們很可能會讓質疑者們再次大吃一驚。

But tonight, I want to go easy on the traditional list of proposals for the year ahead. Don't worry, I've got plenty, from helping students learn to write computer code to personalizing medical treatments for patients. And I'll keep pushing for progress on the work that still needs doing. Fixing a broken immigration system. Protecting our kids from gun violence. Equal pay for equal work, paid leave, raising the minimum wage. All these things still matter to hardworking families; they are still the right thing to do; and I will not let up until they get done.
但在今晚，我打算少談些像往年那樣的發展計劃。別擔心，我還是有很多計劃要談，比如，幫助學生學習編寫計算機代碼，以及對病人進行個性化治療。我將繼續推動這些未竟事業的進步。完善有漏洞的移民體系。保護我們的孩子們免遭槍械暴力。繼續推行同工同酬及帶薪休假，并提高最低工資水平。所有的這一切對于努力工作的家庭們來說依然至關重要；這些仍是我們要做的對的事情。我絕不會放松這些工作，直至他們完成為止。

But for my final address to this chamber, I don't want to talk just about the next year. I want to focus on the next five years, ten years, and beyond.
但這是我最后一次在此發表講話，我不想只談論來年的事宜。我想關注今后的五年、十年，甚至更久遠的事情。

I want to focus on our future.
我更關注我們的未來。

We live in a time of extraordinary change – change that's reshaping the way we live, the way we work, our planet and our place in the world. It's change that promises amazing medical breakthroughs, but also economic disruptions that strain working families. It promises education for girls in the most remote villages, but also connects terrorists plotting an ocean away. It's change that can broaden opportunity, or widen inequality. And whether we like it or not, the pace of this change will only accelerate.
我們生活在一個充滿巨變的時代，這場巨變改變了我們的生活、工作方式，改變了我們的星球和我們在世界上的地位。這種巨變預示著醫學將出現重大突破，也會帶來困擾著工薪家庭的經濟動蕩。它為生活在邊遠山區的女孩們帶去教育的希望，卻也使遠距重洋的恐怖分子得以串通一氣策劃陰謀。這場巨變能夠帶來機遇，也會擴大不公。無論我們喜歡與否，這場巨變的進度只會越來越快。

America has been through big changes before – wars and depression, the influx of immigrants, workers fighting for a fair deal, and movements to expand civil rights. Each time, there have been those who told us to fear the future; who claimed we could slam the brakes on change, promising to restore past glory if we just got some group or idea that was threatening America under control. And each time, we overcame those fears. We did not, in the words of Lincoln, adhere to the "dogmas of the quiet past." Instead we thought anew, and acted anew. We made change work for us, always extending America's promise outward, to the next frontier, to more and more people. And because we did – because we saw opportunity where others saw only peril – we emerged stronger and better than before.
美國曾經歷過種種巨變——戰爭，蕭條，移民涌入，工人運動，以及民權運動。每一次，總有人告訴我們要畏懼未來。每當美國受到某些組織或者言論威脅，將要失控，這些人就告訴我們要停止變革，并承諾恢復往日的輝煌。但每一次，我們都能夠克服恐懼。用林肯的話來說，我們并未遵循“平靜的過去時代的信條”。相反地，我們能夠用新的思維思考，以新的方式行事。我們巧妙地利用變化，始終將美國的潛力擴展至更廣闊的前沿，惠及更多的民眾。正緣于此——因為他人眼中的風險在我們看來是機遇——我們變得比以前更強更好。

What was true then can be true now. Our unique strengths as a nation – our optimism and work ethic, our spirit of discovery and innovation, our diversity and commitment to the rule of law – these things give us everything we need to ensure prosperity and security for generations to come.
過去的真理，現在亦未曾改變。我們的樂觀主義與職業道德，我們的發現與創新精神，我們種族多樣化和法治信條，這些都是我們作為一個國家所擁有的獨一無二的優點，使我們具備了世代繁榮昌盛、國泰民安的一切條件。

In fact, it's that spirit that made the progress of these past seven years possible. It's how we recovered from the worst economic crisis in generations. It's how we reformed our health care system, and reinvented our energy sector; how we delivered more care and benefits to our troops and veterans, and how we secured the freedom in every state to marry the person we love.
事實上，正因有了這種精神力量，我們過去七年才可能取得進步。它使我們得以從幾代以來最嚴重的經濟危機中恢復；是我們改革醫療體系、改造能源部門的動力；保證了我們給予軍人和老兵更多關心和福利。也正因為此，我們能夠讓每個州的人都獲得了與所愛的人結婚的自由。

But such progress is not inevitable. It is the result of choices we make together. And we face such choices right now. Will we respond to the changes of our time with fear, turning inward as a nation, and turning against each other as a people? Or will we face the future with confidence in who we are, what we stand for, and the incredible things we can do together?
但是，這些進步并不是注定會發生的，而是我們共同選擇的結果。我們當下正面臨著這樣的選擇。面對時代的變化，我們是將以恐懼對之，閉門造車，各自為戰？還是自我肯定，堅持立場，相信我們能共創奇跡？